Next weekend is Easter: Hooray! It's definitely my favourite feast day/holiday of the year. No matter how you read this ancient festival, whatever your stance on reincarnation or chocolate eggs, it's surely a time to celebrate new beginnings, the lengthening days and the warm, yellow glow of a newly minted season – daffodils, primroses, egg yolks. Maybe even some actual sunshine.

Of course, the holiday weekend is a great chance to catch up with family and friends – not the obligation brigade that Christmas insists on, but the ones we really like to have fun with. We'll want to feast with them, for sure, but it would be a shame to let meal-related anxiety get in the way of the fun.

I reckon that's doable. You can have your Easter cake, metaphorically speaking, and eat it, and not spend too much time fussing over it. One great plus is that you don't have the same tyranny of tradition that looms so large over the Christmas kitchen. There's certainly no pressure to make a massive roast dinner – with its undeniable challenges related to timing and multiple saucepan use – if that's not your forte.

One thing that will definitely make for a relaxing break is getting some of the catering done ahead of time. That way, you can enjoy your Easter morning – whether that means going to church, masterminding an egg hunt or lying in bed with the papers – knowing that lunch is in hand. With this in mind, the ideal main course centrepiece is a hearty stew, something that will benefit from a few days in the fridge, its aromatics mingling and mellowing, before its big outing.

In fact, all this week's recipes are designed to be made in part or in whole ahead of time. You could even do the bulk of the work today or tomorrow, and leave the results in the fridge or freezer before bringing them all together with some finishing touches next weekend.

So here it is: a faff-free Easter feast for favourite family and friends. What could be fabber?

Labneh eggs with dukka

I love the idea of creating "eggs" from tangy yoghurt cheese, aka labneh. Rolling them in the spicy, nutty mix known as dukka turns them into speckled dukka eggs! See what I've done there? If you don't fancy forming eggs, the labneh is still delicious heaped into a dish, scattered with dukka and trickled with virgin olive oil. Make the labneh and dukka ahead of time, but do the egg forming on the day. Serves eight as a starter.

To make the labneh, put the yoghurt in a bowl, add the salt and mix well. Line a sieve with a square of muslin or a thin cotton cloth, and place over a bowl. Spoon the yoghurt into the cloth, then flip the sides over the yoghurt to enclose it. Transfer to the fridge and leave for at least two or three days and up to a week. Lots of liquid will drain into the bowl and the yoghurt should end up looking like a soft cheese. Turn the labneh over in the sieve each day, and change the muslin every couple of days.

To make the dukka, heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the hazelnuts in the oven for five minutes, until they smell toasty but before they start to burn. Transfer to a clean tea towel and rub vigorously, to remove most of the skins. Cool the hazelnuts, then chop roughly.

In a small pan over a medium heat, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until they begin to release their aroma. Transfer to a large mortar and bash with a pestle until broken up. In the same pan, lightly toast the sesame seeds.

Add the chopped nuts to the mortar and bash until they are broken up into smallish pieces. Stir in the sesame seeds, chilli flakes and salt, and transfer to a screwtop jar. Seal and leave until needed – the dukka will keep up to two weeks in a closed jar stored in a cool, dry place.

When you're ready to serve, spread some dukka on a plate. To form the "eggs", oil your hands lightly with olive oil. Take spoonfuls of labneh and roll them gently between your palms into a ball. You can leave them like this, or gently roll one of the ends to more of a point, creating a rough egg shape. Roll each "egg" in the dukka and place on a serving plate.

Serve with warm flatbreads and a green salad with some good extra-virgin olive oil for dipping/trickling.

Shin of beef stew with star anise

The warm, spicy note of star anise is delicious with beef. This rich stew will only improve for being left in the fridge for up to a week. Serves eight.

Heat the oven to 140C/285F/gas mark 1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large, nonstick frying pan over a fairly high heat. Season the beef, then brown in batches, adding a couple of handfuls to the pan at a time. Fry for five minutes, until golden-brown all over, transfer to a large, ovenproof casserole with a lid and repeat with remaining beef, adding a bit more oil with each batch.

Lower the heat under the frying pan, add another tablespoon of oil and fry the whole shallots and garlic cloves (again, in batches if need be) for about five minutes, stirring often, until golden. Tip into the meat pot.

Deglaze the frying pan with a glass of wine, if using, or water, let it bubble for a few minutes, stirring to loosen any bits of caramelised meat and seasoning stuck to the pan, then pour into the casserole. Add stock, passata, bay leaves and star anise to the beef pot, put on a medium flame and bring to a simmer. Cover and transfer to the oven for three to three and a half hours, until the beef is tender. Leave to cool completely, then refrigerate.

Reheat gently, season to taste, and dish up with creamy mash – spiked, if you like, with horseradish – and some steamed greens or cabbage.

Rhubarb semifreddo

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's rhubarb semifreddo recipe: 'Frozen puds are excellent if you want to get ahead.' Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardian

Frozen puds are an excellent choice if you want to get ahead. This one is very easy because it doesn't involve churning. Serves eight to 10.

First, cook the rhubarb. Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the rhubarb in a large, wide oven dish with just the water that clings to it after washing, toss with the sugar, cover with foil and bake for 30-60 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn over gently, so as not to break up the rhubarb, then check after 25 minutes, and regularly thereafter, poking it with the tip of a sharp knife – you want to catch it at the point when it's perfectly tender but still holding its shape. Transfer three-quarters of the rhubarb and its juice to a dish and refrigerate. (If you're making this more than two days in advance, freeze this compote and defrost in the fridge before serving.) Puree the remaining rhubarb and juice.

Line a 1kg loaf tin with clingfilm (make the tin slightly wet first, to help the clingfilm to cling). Put the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and whisk for five minutes (ideally, use an electric whisk) until thick, pale and creamy. The mix should hold a trail when you lift the beaters – ie, ribbons of the mix should sit on the surface before sinking back in.

Fold the puree into the moussey mixture, then transfer to the fridge.

When the rhubarb custard mixture is cold, whisk the cream, yoghurt and vanilla seeds until they just hold very soft peaks (if it's too stiff, it will be hard to fold in). Gently fold into the custard with a large metal spoon, keeping in as much air as possible, pour into the prepared tin and freeze until solid. Transfer the semifreddo to the fridge an hour before serving, to soften, then turn out of the tin. Cut into thick slices and serve with a spoonful of the compote.